Bottle dispensing device



June 18, 1935. f rA. KUHN ETAL 2,005,092

BOTTLE DISPENSING DEVICE Filed Aug. 31, 1932 2 Sheets-Shet l N AANA June 1s, 1935. y y A, KUHN EAL 2,005,092

BOTTLE DISPENSING DEVICE y Fnea Aug. 31, 1952 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented June 18, 1935 UNITED STATES rATENr oFFlcE BOTTLE msrENsING DEVICE Anthony Kuhn and Charles H. Heitman, New York, N. Y.; said Heitman assignor to Andrew D. Reid, Weehawkcn, N. J.

Application August 31, 1932, Serial No. 631,129 I solaims.l (ci. S12- 36) a series of cooled, xed storage-magazines to.a

common point of removal from the refrigerator.

In general, the present device, in its main principles lof llingand discharging bottles or similar cylindrical articles is similar to our copending U. S. application Serial #470,826, filed July 26th, 1930, for Vending devices.

The bottle holding means of the present device are similar to those disclosed in the above noted application, with the exception that, in the present instance means have been provided to create greater rolling friction to the falling bottles or bodies and to silence the gravitational feed action thereof as will be later pointed out in detail.

A further advantage in the present improvement relates to the provision of means for cushioning and for also silencing the final drop of the article to the common dispensing point, such cushioning means beingso arranged as to cause the bottles or articles so selected, from plural selection points, to be automatically rolled to said dispensing or removal point. 4

The foregoing, and many other novel features will be ascertained as the herein description proceeds, and it is obvious that modifications may be made in the herein outlined improvements, Without departing from the spirit hereof or the scope of the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of one form of a refrigerator embodying ourA invention showing a portion of the front broken away to show the structure of one of the bottle receiving and feeding channels;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of Fig. 1;

Fig 3 is a sectiomu zview taken on the une 3 3, Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows; y

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmental section of the lower portion of the refrigerator and the dispensing device with a part of the front broken away to show the cushioning and dispensing mounting of the rotary bottle discharger is disclosed;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary view in cross section showing details enlarged of the bottle rotating batlles and the friction and silencing means 5 associated therewith.

In Fig. 1 the entire refrigerator is indicated by I, and while not fully shown, the refrigerator is constructed to be operatedby any standard electrical refrigerator unit, the motor being sealed 10 within the lower half of said refrigerator and bei ing freely open to atmosphere by the louvres 2.. The cold unit and the piping thereof is not shown, it being well understood to those skilled in the art, and the refrigerating means utilized are not claimed herein, and being well known, need not be further described.

The top portion of the refrigerator I above the Y louvre section 2, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4, comprises a series of inbuilt channel members formedof yupright side strips 3 and end strips 4, so that each associate bottle receiving channel is substantially rectangular from top to bottom.

vAs constructed, these channel forming members as made of spaced metal strips 3 and 4, are open to the cooling action of the circulating cold air so that at the front and rear spaces as at 5. and 5', Fig. 3, there is a vertical channel and there are also spaces between the strips 3-3, such as at 6, Fig. 3, to permit cold air to circulate through the bottle receiving channels so that the bottles held thereinare thoroughly cooled.

In Fig. 1 there is shown a partially fragmented channel member showing the bottles 1 piled therein, lookingr from the front of the device, said bottles being held in a staggered relation within said channels by staggered baiiles generally denoted by 8, said bailles being comprised of an outstanding lower bracket portion 9, Fig. 7, the bent flange I0 of which is welded or otherwise af- 40 fixed to the side wall strips 3, the outer end of said flange support 9 being slightly downwardly bent and having the overfolded end II of an angular baille member I2 connected therewith, said member I2 being of metal and having its upper flanged end I3 axed to the metal side wall strip 3.

Above the flange I3 there is a clip strip I4 weld-v ed at its end I5 also to the Aside wall 3 and underneath the lower open end I6 of which there is introduced a web of sheet rubber I'I, Fig. 7, the clip I4 being bent down upon the upper end of said web to rmly hold the same in operative position, the lower end I8 of said web I1 being loose and resting upon the lower end of the inclined 55 baiile I2 so that the said web is loosely held in operative position, as in Fig. 7.

It is to be understood that each of the bailles shown in the vertical channels of the herein construction are each provided with metallic-rubber baille construction above disclosed.

The foregoing construction therefore disposes the flexible rubber web I1, in a loose and cushionlike suspension upon the baffle plate I2, said webs, upon the reception of each bottle, as they pass vdownwardly towards the point of dispensing, be-

ing compressively acted upon to receive the blows of the Abottles as they fall and at the same time to exert a friction on the sides of the bottles to cause the bottles to rotate in the direction of the arrow A, Fig. 7 as the bottles roll downwardly from baiiie to baflie.

As in the previously noted pending application Serial No. 470,826, the present baille construction is of such a nature as to cause the bottles as they fall to be rotated first in one direction upon contacting with and leaving a baille and then to rotate in the opposite `direction upon contacting with and leaving the next successive baille, and thereby be retarded in its gravity actuated downward feeding, and this action is such that should the channels be entirely empty, a bottle introduced at the top thereof will fall to the bottom with a series'of oppositely rotated movements from baffle to baffle, thereby being greatly retarded in its fall, and absolutely without breakage. If another bottle is introduced from the top inthe same manner, it will fall to the bottom and rest against the first introduced bottle at the bottom without breakage. 1 l

In order to fill the channels any desired form of top opening may be utilized. In the present instance, as in Figs. 1 and 2, the top of the refrigerator is shown as being provided with a series of hinged doors I9, each of the ,said doors being hinged at the rear by hinges 20 to the rear wall 2l of the refrigerator, and each of the said doors being provided with lifting knobs 22 whereby the said knobs may beoperated to lift the doors to open each channel so that bottles may be introduced, as desired, for filling said channels, after which the doors are closed.

It is desired in the present device to carry a plurality o1'. different types of beverages in each channel and to that end the front face of. the refrigerator I is provided with a series of name lplates B, these being small metal vframes into which may be introduced tags with the name of the beverage, which is included in its associate channel. At the bottom of each channel as in Figs. 3, 4, and 6, there is provided a manually rotatable half cylinder 23 which may be made of an outer cylindrical metal shell 23, Fig. 6, and lined on its inner side with a cemented on rubber pad 24` upon which is overlaid, as in Fig. 4, and cemented thereto a thick sponge rubber pad 25, so ythat when the cylindrical, rotatable vbottle receiving and dispensing tray is in normal bottle receiving position, as in the first left hand channel in Fig. 4, the tray is in the upwardly open position to receive a bottle falling from the said channel above, from the lowermost baille therein. 'Ihe falling bottle will land on the soft sponge rubber pad 25, and the force of the fall will be broken and the fall of the bottle be silenced.

As shown in Fig. 4, and in Figs. 5 and 6 the cylindrical bottle receiving tray has two round `disk nke ends 2s and 21 and an intermediately the outer metal shell 23 is attached. On the rear of the disk 21 there is a short trunnion or shaft 28 projecting from the center thereof.

The rear channel forming wall strip 4, Fig. 6, has a circle cut-out 29', sufllciently large to permit the bottle receiving shell 23 to rotate freely therein and in order to support the trunnion 28 `for rotation, there is provided at said rear end ing a turning handle 34 attached thereto, these f handles being fully shown in Fig. 1 and also in Fig. 2. The wall of the refrigerator, all around, as in Figs. 3 and 5, is made of an inner and outer shell made without joints and the space between the said inner and outer shells as in Figs. 5 and 3 is filled with an insulation or cork filling C.

'I'he rotating handles 34, as in Fig. 1, are utilized to rotate the bottle receiving cylinders 23 from the bottle receiving position to the bottle discharging position, downward, `when it is desired to extract a bottle from any desired channel member. As in Fig. 4, the second bottle receiving cylinder 23 has been rotated to dis-V charge a bottle D, shown in dotted lines, and at the same time to hold up the next bottle until the cylinder 23 has been restored to the non bottle discharging position, and the restoration of the receiving. cylinder 23 to bottle receiving position is caused by means of a spring 35, fully shown in Fig. 6, the said spring being attached by a pin 36 to the end wall 4, and the other end of the spring being attached to a pin 31 which is attached to the rear end disk 21, soy that when a handle 34 has been rotated to discharge a bottle and is released, thespring causes the bottle receiving sleeve to rotate back to bottle receiving position.

.receiving channels in which the bottles vare indicated in dotted lines in their operative positions resting against the staggered bailles in each bottle receiving channel, and it will be noted4 that each of the said bottle receiving channels are provided with a separate rotatable bottle receiving and discharge means 23, all actuated as previously described.

It will further be noted that there is mounted, below the open ends of said channels and which are controlled by the said bottle receiving and discharging means 23, a bent metal plate 38, said plate being angularly inclined in two directions from a peak 39 and being supported by a side flange 40 which is suitably attached to opposite sides of the inner refrigerator walls. This double inclined plate 38 has fixedly mounted thereon a heavy sponge rubber pad or blanket 4I, which is cemented to said plate 38 in such a manner as to also be angularly inclined in both directions, to the right and to the left, Fig. 4.so that when a bottle is dropped from any of the three or four intermediate channels, except both extreme right and left hand end channels, the bottles so discharged fall upon the sponge rubber pad 4I as shown by bottle D, dotted, and will then roll to a position shown by the dotted bottle E.

When the bottle is discharged from position D to position E, it falls upon a second rubber blanket 42 which is also inclined with a double angle from its outer ends to the center, being depressed at 43,' but being higher on both. its ends and thereafter rolls in the direction of the arrow F to the dotted bottle position G, Fig. 4, where it is in a central position before the dispensingor discharge door 44. Thereafter, the door 44 may be opened andthe bottle extracted therefrom, and the door then closed.

In the case of the extreme right hand and left hand bottle holding channels, these operate some-.

what differently than above described. For instance when the receiving and discharging sleeve y 23 on the left hand side, Fig. 4, is rotated, the

bottle falls from the discharging position directly to the sponge rubber pad 42 at position E, and thereafter rolls to position G as previously described, and the action of discharge from the extreme right hand bottle receiving channel is the same, this extreme right hand bottle receiving channel however, not being shown. i

Thus'it will be noted that we have provided a bottle discharge mechanism at the bottom of each bottle carrying channel member wherein bottles may be discharged one by one from any one of the adjacent' vertical rows of bottles. And as the bottles drop onto the cushion they are gravitationally fed to the opposite sides of the refrigerator and from thence by inclined runway to a central bottle dispensing position.

It will further be noted that from the introducv tion of a bottle at the top of the refrigerator as 1 receiver and said opening, bottle guides disposed within said. passage and including horizontally disposed staggered metal members which have ends attached to said strips, the opposite ends of said members being projected into the passageway; cooperating inclined metal members having their top ends attached to said strips above the respective horizontal members, said inclined members having their opposite ends resting on the second mentioned ends of the horizontal members; clips carried by said strips above said top ends; and rubber cushions held by said strips and freely suspended on said inclined members, so that a bottle inserted in said opening may successively engage said cushions and move gravitationally downwardly in a curved path to said receiver, said cushions being adapted to cause the bottle to rotate in opposite directions during its descent whereby to retard its-travel.

2. A bottle dispensing'device of the class described comprising opposed spaced metal strips having a vertical passage therebetween; staggered brackets carried by said strips, each of said brackets comprising a horizontally- Vdisposed rigid sheet member which has one end fixed to adjoining strips, said member being projected limitedly into the passage and having its other end turned downwardly, an inclined top sheet vmember having its top end fixed to the adjoining strips, said top member having its lower end embracing said downwardly turned end; a clip carried by the last mentioned strips above said inclined member, a rubber sheet having its top end held by said clip, the body of said sheet and its lower end being freely disposed on said inclined member in covering relation therewith; whereby a descending bottle may successively engage said rubber sheets and travel in a practically curved path, the free portions of said sheets being adapted to stretch or yield when the bottle first engages them, said free portions being then adapted to contact or move backwardly, whereby to rotate the bottle and retard the travel thereof.

3. In combination, means forming an upright passage chamber for bottles and the like, said chamber having its opposite sides respectively formed with staggered series of guide projections having upper soft highly frictional cushioned frictional guide faces respectively; each guide face engaging a bottle rolling down said face, to give it a` spinning movement to project it to the opposite side of the chamber with the advance face of the bottle moving downwardly relative to its following face, and adapted while thus moving, to engage the next lower guide face on the opposite side of the chamber; the downward movement of said advance face, when it engages said next lower face tending to raise the bottle to retard its fall, said next lower face then frictionally iirmly engaging. and rotating the bottle in the opposite direction and again projecting it;

the frictional quality of the face giving to the face enough frictional hold on the bottle, to give high speed rotation to the bottle as it leaves one face; said high speed rotation and the fric-v I whereby breakagev is prevented no matter how far a bottle may fall upon another in said space.

4. In combination, means forming an upright passage chamber for bottles and the like, said chamber having its opposite sides respectively formed with staggered series of guide projections having upper concaved highly frictional cushioned faces respectively; said guide face engaging a bottle rolling down said face, to give it a spinning movement to project it to the opposite side of the chamber with the advance face of the bottle moving downwardly, the downward movement of saidadvance face, when it engages the next lower guide face tending to raise the bottle to retard the fall of the bottle, said next lowerface then frictionally and centripetally flrmly engaging and rotating the bottle in the opposite direction and again projecting it; the concavity of said frictional upper guide face exerting centripetal force upon said bottle, thereby increasing the friction upon the bottle to facilitate rotating the bottle; said centripetal force and the frictional quality of the face giving to the face enough frictional hold on the bottle, to give high speed rotation to the bottle as it leaves one face; said high speed rotation and the centripetal force and the frictional hold of the next lower face being substantially suicient to cause arise in the bottle when received, thereby to temporarily substantially nullify,l and therefore retard the downward movement and acceleration of the bottle to low maximum, whereby breakage is prevented when the bottles strike one upon the other no matter how far the bottles maytravel in the chamber.

5. In combination, means'formingan upright passage chamber for bottles and the likeysaid chamber having its opposite sides respectively formed with staggered series of guide projections having upper concaved faces respectively; a soft highly frictional cushion covering each upper face to form an upper frictional concaved guide fa'ce; each `guide gradually curvingfrom a steep angle at its upper part to a less steep angle at its lower part, approximating an obtuse angle with the upright axis of the chamber; said guide face engaging a bottle rolling down said face, to give to the bottle a spinning movement to project it to the opposite side of the chamber with the advance face of the bottle moving downwardly relative to its following face, the bottle being adapted while thus moving, to engage the next lower guide face on the opposite side of the chamber; the downward movement of said advance face, when it engages said next lower face tending to raise the bottle on said face, thereby to retard the fall of the bottle, said next lower face, then frictionally and centripetally firmly engaging andy rotating the bottle in the opposite direction and again projecting it; the concavity of said frictional upper guide face exerting centripetal force upon said bottle, thereby increasing the friction upon the bottle to give high speed rotation to the bottle as it leaves one face; said high speed rotation and the centripetal force and the frictional hold of the next lower face being ,suicient to cause a. pause in the bottle when received, thereby to temporarily reduce to low maxima the speed and acceleration vof the bottle to prevent breakage no matter how far the bottles may fall one upon another.

ANTHONY KUHN.

CHARLES H. HEITMAN. 

